IMH health attendant jailed for slapping patient

A health attendant at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) got angry and slapped a patient's head twice after the mentally ill man became aggressive.

Sadasivam Kannan, 61, who worked at IMH for 17 years, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person in 2019 and was yesterday sentenced to three weeks' jail.

He was fired in March last year.

The victim, 59, is a long-term patient with chronic schizophrenia. He cannot protect himself from abuse owing to his mental illness, the court heard.

Sadasivam and two staff nurses - Muhammad Ihsan Mahmud, 32, and Iylia Muhammad Afiq Nor Effendi, 25 - were accused of assaulting the patient on Dec 8, 2019.

The court heard that the victim was moved to a lounge area after a haircut. He started toying with another patient's urinal and splashed some urine on an attending nurse. Ihsan heard what happened and splashed hand sanitiser on the victim's face.

The victim then created a disturbance, and Sadasivam, Ihsan and Iylia changed a one-point restraint into a three-point one. When the victim grew agitated, Ihsan punched him in the face twice. The patient was still aggressive and kicked at the nurses, and the three men held him down to subdue him.

As Sadasivam was trying to secure the restraints, the victim kicked another patient. This riled Sadasivam, who slapped the back of his head and scolded him. The victim cowered and calmed down while Sadasivam continued fixing his restraints. He then rocked his head back and forth and placed his head close to Sadasivam's, who slapped him again.

Iylia allegedly also slapped the victim on his back, shoulder and neck several times. He is also accused of tilting the victim's wheelchair forward and sideways, nearly causing him to fall.

Video footage of the incident captured by a security camera was shown in court. The victim was sent that day to hospital and found to have a fractured toe and multiple bruises.

The deputy public prosecutor sought at least four weeks' jail for Sadasivam. She said there was a breach of trust and duty of care he owed to the victim.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Sadasivam could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined up to $5,000, or both. For assaulting a vulnerable person, he could have been sentenced up to 1½ times that punishment.

Ihsan and Iylia were also charged with voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable victim and using criminal force against him. Iylia faces an additional charge of committing a rash act that endangers human life. His case is pending. Ihsan was convicted and sentenced to nine weeks jail in January this year.